Category: Favorite Books

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support of this blog!It also contains links to previous posts to give you even more ideas…
happy reading!

It’s that time!! Fall is upon us, and here in South Texas we’ve finally had a couple days with highs below 80F! It’s actually jacket weather in the early mornings, and it’s going to be time very soon for this gardener to get back outside and clean up my flower beds that turned to weeds in the heat of the summer. Becca has been feeling the change in the air, too… and has been begging to get outside and explore again, which is awesome!

A few weeks back (in the heat of the summer when we spent a LOT of time in the cool of The DoSeum), I came across this book in their library and fell in love. (A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Aston) I ordered it for “such a time as this” and the other day we pulled it out to read before going on a seed hunt! Becca was so excited to see our Texas Mountain Laurel seeds on the front cover- since our property is simply covered in Mountain Laurels! I love that the author incorporates LOTS of different plant seeds, talks about how various seeds are transferred and planted naturally, and also shows timelines of how long various seeds take to sprout and produce fruit! The illustrations by Sylvia Long are gorgeous, and it’s definitely a page turner that Becca loved – she begged to read it again when we got back inside, and also used it as a reference guide on our walk when she had questions. (And I can’t wait to get more of Dianna’s books – she has several that I’ve added to our wishlist!)

So what did we do exactly? First, we read the book. Then, we grabbed a bucket and headed outside with Daisy. We looked everywhere for seeds. At first, she was just seeing Mountain Laurels and acorns on the ground. But then her eye started getting more keen and she started looking AROUND instead of just down. And then she started looking UP! She was amazed at all of the seeds everywhere! We collected seeds along our way through our nature trail (we live on an acre and a half of very wooded land), and then before we came inside, I showed her that Daisy had been collecting seeds for us, too! What a fabulous way to see how animals transfer seeds! She was in awe. (If you don’t have this availability on your property, take a trip to your local wooded park or along the bank of the closest stream, etc.)

So, we brought our seeds inside, and then sorted them by the seeds that were obviously just seeds, and by what looked to be seeds inside seed pods. We talked about how the pods don’t drop their seed until just the right time, and she explored opening a couple of the pods and discovered that they didn’t all have seeds! One had a spider web, and it appeared the spider had probably eaten the seeds early on. Another had shriveled, tiny seeds. And yet another had a whole, healthy seed. It was a great way to talk about how appearances on the outside aren’t everything – all of the seed pods looked the same on the outside. She was ready to move on to a different activity, so I didn’t dwell on the character lesson, but the seed did get planted, so to speak. 😉

There was also a door left open to do more research about seeds – she wasn’t sure if the flowers that had seeds in their centers were considered seed pods or not, and she wasn’t sure about a couple of the weeds that we collected – and wants to know how their seeds get transferred. So, there is plenty of room for more discussion and research, which we will do at the library next time.

There is also room to go back and review the sunflower life cycle unit that we did last fall – so glad I laminated everything! 🙂 (not an affiliate link, just giving credit where credit is due – it’s a great unit she has set up!)

What are you doing to get your kids outside as the weather begins to turn cooler? Here are some other fall ideas you might enjoy!

I first came across this adorable book when visiting a quaint little bookstore near downtown called The Twig. (If you are in the San Antonio area and haven’t checked it out, you really must!) Becca was just little, and the bright colors on the cover grabbed her attention – and mine. I’m so glad that we purchased it that day!

Since then, we have added nearly all of the Duck and Goose books to our library, and both kids love them! We have also added some of Tad Hills’ other books to our library as well. He is truly a fabulous author/illustrator! Becca still reads all of ours on a regular basis, and Gray loves them too, so I’m sure eventually we will have to own them all!

If you haven’t seen the Duck and Goose books, you really must get them! I highly recommend starting with Goose Needs A Hug. It’s a wonderful story of Goose, who yes, just needs a hug. But it also is a fabulous story about how to be a good friend, and how to truly LISTEN when a friend needs to tell you something. A lesson parents can learn from as well, as our little ones attempt to tell us what they need.

If you are already Duck & Goose fans, did you know that a new book was released earlier this year? Duck & Goose Let’s Dance! looks like a super fun book – I can’t wait to add it to our library! (And it has a free song to download, too! My little musicians are gonna love this one, and so will yours!)

I’m so excited to share today’s book with you. It’s one that Becca and I discovered in our small town library back when she was about 6 months old. Not long after we had checked it out for the fourth or fifth time, I mentioned how much she loved it to a friend, who told me about the sequel… and my mom caught wind of the conversation and sent us both books for our own collection! Now Gray loves them, and he even has the “Beep-Along-Book,” which is super fun!

The thing we love most about the Little Blue Truck books by Alice Schertle and Jill McElmurry is the cadence. They are just FUN to read, and fun to listen to. The illustrations are gorgeous, and both kids love how the back page of the Christmas book lights up! So if you haven’t read about Little Blue Truck, his helpful heart and his friendly spirit, you HAVE to check out these books! Or maybe you have and didn’t know there are other books? There are several! Check them out in the convenient link list below!

I’m also excited to see that their latest – Little Blue Truck’s Halloween – is now available for pre-order on Amazon! Woot woot! Doesn’t it look like a fun book? And with flaps!!!! I can’t wait! Amazon says it’ll be out in July!

All of the links on this page are affiliate links. Thank you for supporting our family with your purchases!

Each Wednesday at noon, I’ll be sharing with you our favorite books! It’s a fabulous way (via affiliate links) to assist our family with blog and homeschooling expenses, and to help introduce you and your kids to new books that we love and we know you’re going to want to add to your library!!

Both of our kids simply LOVE “Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site.” The awesome thing about this book by Sherri Dusky Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld is that it comes in multiple formats for EVERY reader in your family, and also has additional books and activities available! Check out all these amazing resources that you can purchase for your family!